Eradicability of filarial diseases

The eradicability of a filaria disease is not only a matter of practical
feasability, but also a matter of theory. The host-parasite relationship
developed within millions of years to a stage where the host
learned to control the parasite, which itself learned to persist in the host.
Both, the host and the parasite, have established processes which regulate
their coexistence, and these processes also determine how efficient the
parasite can resist against human intervention. The effects of regulatory
processes on the eradicability of a disease can be examined by mathematical
models which allow for performing sensitivity analyses
into the prospects of intervention success.

The eradicability of filarial infections can be illustrated by persistence graphs.
These show how equilibrium parasite burdens, transmission thresholds and breakpoints
depend on the number of vectorhost contacts and thereby enables
the eradicability of an infection to be assessed.
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Density-dependent process can be classified into the processes of
facilitaion and limitation. They are best investigated in the example of onchocerciasis.
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Density-dependent process within the host-parasite relationship
determine the location of transmission thresholds and breakpoints.
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Persistence graphs are derived from ABR-specific equilibrium solutions
of mathematical models, of which a basic one, is described on a separate page.
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Predictions into the eradicability of filarial infections can only be
reliable if we sufficiently understand the interactions between the host,
the parasite, and the effects of interventions.
For example, only a slight density-dependent effect in the efficacy
of microfilarial drugs is capable of shifting transmission threshold
and breakpoints by some orders of magnitudes.
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